Adjustable counterlining support



Feb. 4, 1941.

A. R. PINTO ADJUSTABLE COUNTERLINING SUPPORT Filed March 24, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l A VIII/IA will ',IIIA rIIIIII l] /f INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

A. R. PlNTO ADJUSTABLE COUNTERLINING SUPPORT Feb. 4, 1941.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1938 Q Nm ,.is/d I fm .mIllll. m

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Feb, 4, 1941 A. R. PINTO ADJUSTABLE COUNTERLINING SUPPORT Filed March 24, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i if 1N VENT OR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Arthur R. Pinto, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to National Casket Company Incorporated, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application March 24,

9 Claims.

This invention relates to adjustable counterlining supports for burial caskets, whereby the body may be elevated tc a desired level with respect to the particular type of casket, and at the close of the funeral ceremonies may be readjusted by the mortician prior to closing the cover.

The invention may be incorporated in various types of casket constructions, such as are commonly known as basic, half couch, drop side,

lo Amplex, and any of the numerous kinds of wood, metal or composition caskets, without making any changes in the construction of the casket per se, and without disarranging or changing any of the well established practices of counterlining the sides and ends of the body of the casket, or interfering with the interior or body lining of the casket by the operation of the device.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction which will be easily operable zo by one person without assistance and requiring so little eiiort to adjust during the act of raising or lowering the support as to render these operations practically unnoticeable, and with the complete absence of noise.

Another object is to so arrange the operating parts wholly within the casket and beneath the cloth trimming of the casket that the presence of the parts will be undetectable, While at the same time they are readily accessible for operation whereby the support may be adjusted to bring the body to any desired elevation or inclination within the range of movement of the support, and enabling the funeral director or mortician to adjust the body in the casket to any desired level or height at the time the body is casketed or any time thereafter.

Furthermore, it enables the body to be raised to a high level or position when it is placed in the funeral parlor or the home to a degree that the o top would not close unless the body was lowered. The general practice of today is that the body is is casketed to just as high a level as is possible and yet allow the casket top to-be closed without striking any part of the body itself, and the 5 body is left that Way during the entire period from the time it is casketed until it is buried. With my device the body can be brought up to a higher level and, when the casket is closed, lowered either all the way to the bottom or suiciently far enough so that the top can be closed, all without any effort or noise, and without any noticeable operation of the device on the part of the mortician.

Another object is to produce a simple and inexpensive construction which will be dependable,

1938, Serial No. 197,771

and which will not decrease the useful space within the casket, this being accomplished without interfering with the present method of counterlining the inside of casket bodies, regardless of shape, design or size, and without destroy- 5 ing or interfering in any way with the silk interior material used in such bodiesfof all types of caskets,

The invention is adaptable and may be incorporated in all of the various shapes and sizes 10 of wood, metal and composition caskets, whether they be the commonly called Octagon, elliptic, round corner, vertical square, vertical-acto square, or any other shaped casket that may be made. 15

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will. appear as the description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and in Whichlike numerals indicate like parts. In the 20 drawings:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of a casket illustrating my invention, with the body support in slightly elevated position, y

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the construction 2 shown in Fig. l, with the counter-lining removed,

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

lFig. 4 is a modified form of the invention, showing -application thereof to a metal casket, 30

Fig. 5 is a transverse section :on the line `'.i---E of Fig. 4, with the cover removed and a draping material spread apart to show a, detail of the support-adjusting rack,

Fig, 6 is a fragmentary view in section of a sup- 35 portingboard and a pin extending from the end thereof,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a desirable form' of rack element,

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of a modified form 40 of adjusting means, and

Fig. 9 is a side view thereof with portions broken away in section.

Referring at first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the re-ference vnumeral I0 indicates a 45 burial casket having a. bottom Il, side walls rI2 and I3, end walls I4 and l5, anda cover I6, usually hlingedly connected to the top edge of one of the sides as indicated at l1. Such caskets are generally provided with padding I8 around the 5o interior sides and held in place by a suitable covering material fastened tothe sides as by fasteners I9, to give the desired finish to the interior ofthe casket. 1

Heretofore, it has been customary to provide 55 various kinds of counterlinings upon which the body is supported upon the bottom of the casket. In order to adjust the body either for the particular type of casket or because of the shape of the body, either the padding of the counterlining is rearranged, or extra pillows are provided to be moved into position as required. A makeshift of that kind has many disadvantages, among which may be mentioned that the adjustment cannot be done without considerable exertion, it requires the greaest skill to make the adjustment, and there is no assurance that the pillows will not collapse and allow the mattress to change to a different position; and in the customary counterlining as used today the body remains in one position during the entire funeral proceedings. There is no way to raise or lower the body to any different level than the one originally established when it was placed in the casket.

Various types of mechanically operated counterlining supports have been proposed, but these are unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons, such as impracticability, requirement for the use of external operating devices, liability of noise in use which would be disturbing to those present during the funeral services, etc. Such mechanically operated devices that have been proposed were too complicated to be used other than in a xed position at the time the body was casketed, and the features of adjustments to different levels on such mechanical devices were so complicated that they could not be used by funeral directors in the conduct of their business without material effort and embarrassment to themselves and others.

I have obviated these disadvantages in a very simple and effective way by providing an adjustable support 20 for the single counterlining mattress 2|, although more than one mattress may be used. In addition to a mattress or mattresses, suitable counterlinings can be tacked to the supporting board 20, and to the balance of the casket if so desired. The support 2D may be in the form of a board 22, preferably having a cloth covering 23, and may be of any length, the board illustrated for example in Fig. 1 being substantially two-thirds that of the length of the casket. The support 20 has a hinge or other suitable connection, as at 24, to the bottom I I so that the free end of the entire support together with the major portion of the mattress may be raised or lowered as will be apparent from a consideration of Fig. 1. The hinged end of the support 2U may have a cross piece for re-enforcement as indicated at 25. Metal clips or any other appropriate means may be used in vlieu of the hinges to obtain the pivotal relationship between the board and the bottom of the casket, whether the casket be of wood, metal or composition, and regardless of the length of the board.

The free end oi the support 20 carries an outwardly extending pin 26 fastenedto the under face of the board 22 as by screws 21. Preferably this end of the board is also reenforced by a cross piece 28 fastened-in place by any suitable means such as screws, nails or glue, as is also the case with respect to the cross piece 25 at the hinged end. The pin 26 preferably has a fiat portion 29 for the screws 21 and is interposed between the bottom of the support and the upper face of the cross piece 28, whereby the pin is solidly held in place and the free end'of the board is strengthened. Y

The pin 26 is adapted to engage any one of a series of notches 30 arranged in a vertically -extending rack 3| having its lower end pivoted at 32 and having a finger piece 33, whereby the rack may be readily moved sidewise to engage or disengage the pin 26 against the action of a spring 33 in making elevational adjustments of the free end of the support. A bridge piece 34 having leg portions 35 may be fastened to the end wall I4 by screws 36 passing through the padding I6 into the wall. The legs 35 function as a stop to limit the throw of the rack 3I toward the side walls of the casket.

As will be observed from Fig. 1, the rack 3| is bowed so as to closely hug the padding I8, with the pivot 32 adjacent the bottom of the casket, and the finger piece 33 adjacent the upper edge of the *side wall I4..

In order to conceal the mechanical parts, the inner lining may be arranged to cover the padding I8 around the interior of the casket as indicated at 31, may be split along the line of the rack 3I, and have free overlapping edges 39 and 39 extending downward and crossing as at 40 on opposite sides of the pin 26, so that the pin may ride up or down in the opening between the overlapping edges for engaging with or disengagement from any of the selected notches 30 of the rack 3'I, and at the same time the portions of the mechanism above the pin will be hidden from view. The counterlining and the usual head y pillow (not shown) complete the concealment of the mechanism.

A flat hand-hold strap 4I extends across the top of the support 22, adjacent the free end of the support, and beneath the end of the mattress 2I, the ends of the strap being turned beneath the under portion of the support and secured thereto by suitable fastening means 42.

In making elevational adjustments of the support 2U, the attendant places the fingers of one hand between the overlapping folds 38 and 39 of the material adjacent the top edge of the casket and grasps the finger piece 33. With the other hand he takes hold of the strap 4I beneath the mattress, at one side of the strap so as not to disturb the position of the body, and can then raise or lower the support while operating the finger piece to disengage the notches 30 from the pin 26 carried by the support-20, and reengage another notch, if that be desired, or lower the support to the bottom of the casket.

If suiiicient fullness is allowed in the draping material adjacent the overlapping edges 38 and 39 it may be advantageous to operate the finger piece 33 through the draping material without reaching between the folds. In any event the act of adjusting the pin 26 to any one of the notches 30 is accomplished with such ease and celerity as to render the operation practically unnoticeable, and with freedom from noise, andthere is the important advantage that the mattress is held rigidly in place at all times.

In Figs. 4 and 5 there is illustrated a practical application of the invention to a metal casket, the adjusting mechanism being substantially the same as noted above. The support or board 50 extends the full length of the casket and within a pocket 52 formed by theornamental molding 53, sufficient clearance being provided to permit the end of the support to have a hinge-like acT tion during raising and lowering of thefree end 56. The board pivots upon therib 54 that is normally formed in the bottom 55 to provide the finger grip for handling the casket. v iA further slightmodiiication of the previous form concerns the pivotal mounting of the rack- 3l, which consists in providing a suitable block 51, such as wood, that fits in-the molding 53 at the head end of the casket and receives a pivot screw 53 that engages an opening in the lower end of the rack 3l. 'I'he block 51 may be held against displacement as by angle pieces 59, welded or soldered to the metal, or by any other appropriate holding means, or the block may be shaped so as to be securely held in by a drive t, as will be readily understood. The draping material has been shown spread apart in Fig. 5 to give an unobstructed view of the rack 3|.

In both of the above noted constructions the operation of making the necessary adjustments in raising and lowering the support is the same.

If desired, the free en-d of the board may be provided with rubber bumpers such as indicated at B0 to prevent sound when the support is lowered to the bottom of the casket.

Furthermore, the pin may be secured to the board 22 as shown in Fig. 6, and the cross piece 28 dispensed with in cases where the board does not require re-enforcement.

In Fig. '7 there is shown a present preferred construction of rack element 3| wherein the handle 33a is bent over toward the interior of the casket to facilitate operation without increasing over-all height, and the rack 3l is provided With a strengthening rib Sla.

In the modication shown in Figs. 8 and 9 a bridge piece shaped to form a bracket 6I and a depending plate 62 overlying and conforming to the curvature of a rack element 63 is readily attachable to the end wall I4 by the simple eX- pedient of fastening into place with screws 61, or by welding, as the case may be. The rack element is pivoted at 64 adjacent the botto-m of the plate whereby the rack may be swung sidewise aga-inst the action of a spring 65 as described above. The plate 62 has a slot 66 in which the pin 26, carried by the support 20, is guided vertically and at the same time the arrangement prevents side-sway of the support during the adjustment. In these gures no at- F tempt has been made to show casket details.

i of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a casket having an adjustable support therein having one end pivotally associated with the bottom of the casket, means located within the casket at the head thereof for holding the free end of the support when adjusted to different levels, said means being located between the end of the support and the adjacent end of the casket and extending d above the support, of a covering material having overlapping edges and normally concealing the adjusting means, the material being arranged to permit access of the ngers therebeneath in effecting adjustment of the support.

2. The combination with a casket of an adjustable support therein having one end pivotally associated with the bottom of the casket, a pin carried by the free end of the support, a rack pivoted for sidewise movement adjacent the pin and provided with notches for selective engagement with the pin to hold the free end of the support at a desired elevation above the bottom of the casket, means for limiting the throw of the rack, and a spring for causing the rack to return to the position occupied thereby when the pin engages said notches.

3. The combination with a casket of an adjustable support therein having one end pivotally associated with the bottom of the casket, a pin carried by the free end of thesupport, a rack pivoted for sidewise movement adjacent the pin and provided with notches for selective lengagement with the pin to hold the free end of the support at a desired elevation above the bottom of the casket, whereby the free end of the support can be adjusted to diierent levels in the casket with one hand and the rack can be moved with the other hand in making the adjustment.

4. The combination with a casket having a pocket formed at the lower corner of the foot end of the casket, of an adjustable support therein comprising a board extending substantially the full length of the interior of the casket, the foot end of said board being pivotally mounted to move in sai-d pocket, and means at the head end of the board for adjusting the same to a desired level above the bottom of the casket.

5. The combination with a casket of an adjustable support therein having one end pivotally associated with the bottom of the casket, a pin carried by the free end of the support, a rack pivotally mounted within the casket and having notches located at diierent levels for engagement with the pin, and stationary means cooperating with the pin for preventing side sway of the free end of the support as the same is adjusted to different levels.

6. The combination with a casket of an adjustable support therein having one end pivotally associated with the bottom of the casket, a pin carried by the free end of the support, a rack pivotally mounted Within the casket and having notches located at diierent levels for engagement with the pin, and stationary means for preventing side sway thereof as the same is adjusted to diiferent levels, said means comprising a plate having a slot in which said pin rides.

'7. In a casket having bottom and side and end walls, a body support movable between the walls and having one end pivotally mounted upon the bottom and the free end spaced from the adjacent end wall, a slotted plate mounted on said end Wall and located in said space, an-d means for holding the free end of the support at different levels, said means comprising a pin projecting from the free end of the support and engaging in said slot, and a thin rack having notches on one side thereof and pivotally mounted on one end to said plate, the rack extending upwardly in the space between the free end of the support and adjacent end wall in position to cooperate with the pin and substantially to the top of the casket whereby the rack may be operated with one hand While the support is moved to different levels with the other hand.

8. In a casket having bottom and side and end walls, a body support movable between the Walls and having one end pivotally mounted upon the bottom and the free end spaced from the adjacent end wall, and means for holding the free end of the support at different levels, said means comprising a pin projecting from the free end of the support, and a thin rack having notches on one side thereof and pivotally mounted at one end to the casket for sidewise movement therein into and out of engagement with said pin, the rack extending upwardly in the space between the free end of the support and adjacent end wall in position to cooperate with the pin and substantially to the top of the casket-whereby the rack may be operated with one hand while the support is moved to different levels with the other hand.

9. In a casket having a bottom and side and end walls, the end walls having pockets adjacent the lower ends thereof, a body support movable between thev walls and pivoted upon the bottom with one end braced in the pocket of one of said end walls, and means for holding the free end adjacent the free end of the support, the rack 5 being pivotally mounted on said means, the rack extending upwardly in the space between the free end of the support vand adjacent end wall in position to cooperate with the pin and substantially to the top of the casket whereby the rack may 10 be operated with one hand while the support is moved to diierent levels with the other hand.

ARTHUR R. PINTO. 

